


Lanterns and Stars

by romeoandjulietyouwish



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Crying, Dead Natasha Romanov, Dead Tony Stark, F/M, Grief/Mourning, Hugs, Hurt Peter Parker, Lots of Crying, Love, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Protective Pepper Potts, everyone is sad, not a fix it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-09
Updated: 2019-06-09
Packaged: 2020-04-23 17:16:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19155496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/romeoandjulietyouwish/pseuds/romeoandjulietyouwish
Summary: The whole team mourns Tony and Natasha with floating lanterns.





	Lanterns and Stars

**Author's Note:**

> Come yell at me on tumblr (or give me prompts!): romeoandjulietyouwish

It’s dark outside when the group walks out of the compound and onto the lawn. Pepper holds Morgan on her hip and wipes her eyes with the other, Rhodey stands just over her shoulder, beside Happy. Thor and Bruce stand close together with Valkyrie and Carol while Sam has his arm around Clint, whose eyes are red from crying. Bucky and Steve’s shoulders are touching and they both look at their feet, Wanda and Dr. Strange stand beside them.

Then there’s Peter. He stands in the middle of the group, but alone. Tears silently drip down his cheeks, he bites his lip to keep from sobbing. Happy steps out in front of the group and begins to hand out glowing paper lanterns. Happy gives Peter a supportive smile as he hands Peter his lantern. The paper is warm in Peter’s hand as he takes it. Happy squeezes his shoulder as he passes him. 

Pepper hands Morgan to Rhodey and faces the group, “Thank you all for coming. I know it would have meant a lot to both Natasha and Tony to see you all here together.” Tears pool in her eyes. “I know we all miss Tony and Natasha and we owe it to them to keep living.” Pepper nods, finishing her short speech. She walks back to Morgan, who runs to her mother, teary eyed. Pepper crouches down beside Morgan, holding out the paper lantern to her. The little girl reaches out holds on to it. Together Morgan and Pepper push it into the air. Pepper lifts Morgan back into her arms, hugging her close as they watch the lantern float away. 

Sam and Clint gently lift their lanterns up and release them upwards. Sam squeezes Clint to his side. Rhodey lets his go, silently telling Tony everything he wished he had told him. Bruce squeezes his eyes shut as he pushes his up. The lanterns slowly fly away from the group, everyone watching them with teary eyes.

Peter takes a deep breath, looking into the fire. He squeezes his eyes shut, feeling hot tears drip down his cheeks. He thrusts it upward. To his surprise, Happy comes and stands beside him. Happy puts his arm around Peter’s shoulder and pulls him into a hug. Peter dissolves into the contact, nearly falling against Happy. Happy whispers a quiet prayer, too quiet for Peter to hear. After a moment, Peter pulls away. 

“Thank you,” Peter whispers, his voice hoarse. 

Happy nods, “Of course, kid.” Happy tugs on Peter’s sleeve, “Come with me.”

Peter follows Happy as he guides him to stand beside Pepper. She turns to Peter with glistening eyes. Pepper sets Morgan on the ground. Happy takes Morgan over to where Rhodey stands. Pepper gently touches Peter’s cheek and then wraps Peter in a tight hug. 

“He missed you so much,” Pepper says in his ear. “He never gave up. You were the reason he kept fighting.” Peter sobs against her and he feels Pepper’s arms tighten around him. 

Pepper keeps her arm around Peter as they look up at the sky. The black sky is filled with the soft yellow glow of the lanterns as they fly away. Pepper leans over and kisses Peter’s forehead. 

“Do you think he’s up there?” Peter asks, his eyes tracing the stars. 

Pepper nods with a watery smile, “I have no doubt. He’s probably sticking around to keep an eye on you and Morgan, making sure you don’t get into trouble.” The two of them laugh through their tears. Pepper takes a soft breath.“He loved you.” Pepper says simply. “He always said the one thing he regretted was never telling you that.” Peter chokes out a sob and covers his hand with his mouth. Pepper pulls him back into a hug. 

“It’s beautiful,” Sam says to Clint, watching the lazy pattern of the lanterns as they soar above them. 

Clint nods, “She would have loved this.” Clint takes a gasping breath, “I hope she’s watching now. I hope she can see how much we all love her.” 

Sam rubs Clint’s arm, “She knows.” Sam and Clint hug tightly. “She’ll always be with you.” Clint nods into Sam’s chest. Sam’s shirt is damp from Clint’s tears, but he can’t bring himself to care. 

“How can we go on?” Bruce asks. 

“By taking it one step at a time,” Carol responds. “There’s nothing left to do but move forward.” 

Thor nods, “Though Natasha and Tony are gone, the Avengers aren’t. We have to keep fighting so they didn’t die in vain.” 

Bruce nods, taking a slow breath, “It’s going to be hard. So hard.” Thor hugs Bruce to his side.

“I know,” Thor whispers. “But look around,” he gestures to the crowd, “every single one of them are going to help you, just like you’re going to help them.” Bruce leans against Thor, “We all need to stick together,” Thor says quietly. 

Bruce nods, “Thank you.”

“You see that, peanut?” Rhodey asks Morgan, pointing at the lanterns. Morgan nods, wiping away her tears with her fingertips, “Those lanterns are going to float up into the sky and then become stars, you understand?” Morgan nods again. “And those stars are how you daddy and Aunt Natasha are going to be looking after you.” 

“In the stars?” Morgan asks. 

Rhodey nods, “They’re never going to be truly gone, Morgan. And if you think they are, all you have to do is look up at the stars and watch for the ones that wink at you. That’s your daddy talking to you.” 

Morgan’s eyes fill with tears, “But I want him here. I want to talk to him!” She cries. Rhodey hugs her tightly. 

“I know, baby, I know, but he has to stay in the stars.” Rhodey thinks for a moment, “Do you want to know a secret?” Morgan nods. “Even though those stars look far away, they’re not. So all you need to do is talk and your dad will be listening from a star.”

Morgan looks up at him with big eyes, “You promise?”

“I promise.”


End file.
